episode_0025

Mountains are mountains, and water is water.

I quite liked how incredibly blue the sky was.

At the very front of the classroom, the middle-aged Professor-nim, whose hair was slightly thinning, was in the middle of lecturing about famous awakened individuals who had fallen into villainy.

But at that moment, none of that information was entering my ears.

Resting my chin on my hand, I turned my head slightly to the side, and the sunlight pouring in from the window was brilliant.

Just as I was about to attempt photosynthesis, basking in the sunlight without even needing to squint…

“…Ugh.”

Suddenly, a considerable jolt of pain surged up from my thigh. I flinched, frowned, and turned my head.

I was about to ask what the hell she was doing, but…

“…”

Cheon Soyul was simply staring at me calmly without a word.

Oh, and with her right hand, she was persistently pinching my thigh.

I glared up and down, expressing my will of ‘Aren’t you going to let go of this?’, but Cheon Soyul didn’t budge. She simply raised an eyebrow.

With a chilling expression, as if saying ‘Look at this guy,’ she took her hand away.

However, that wasn’t the result of my threat working. It was, so to speak, one step back for two steps forward. That’s probably it.

Looking up at me with cold eyes, just as I was about to nod contentedly, Cheon Soyul reached out without the slightest hesitation.

This time, not for my thigh.

But directly for my crotch.

“?”

For a moment, I was so flustered that I hesitated, unable to show any reaction.

But that was truly only for a fleeting instant.

“…?!”

Immediately after, before I could even leisurely continue my thoughts, Cheon Soyul’s soft palm firmly seized my sensitive spot.

I let out a silent scream and my eyes widened. Undeniable bewilderment filled my gaze as I looked at Cheon Soyul.

And only then did Cheon Soyul release her merciless grip on me.

As if being fastidious, she took out a handkerchief and roughly wiped her hand, then glared at me.

And then she mouthed something briefly.

– Focus on the lecture.

She was telling me to stop daydreaming and listen to the Professor-nim’s words with the proper attitude.

So dumbfounded, I weakly mouthed words.

‘…This girl, really, now that she’s seen everything, she’s just grabbing anywhere.’

Just my luck, I couldn’t retaliate, as I was starting to draw the Professor-nim’s attention.

Trembling with indignation, I protested to Cheon Soyul with only my eyes.

Of course, she just scoffed and sharply turned her head away.

Ah.

Seriously.

Not more, not less, just wanting to hit her once… That’s how annoying her expression was.

My hands trembled beneath the desk, and Cheon Soyul feigned ignorance calmly.

‘Hoo…’

A deep sigh almost escaped me. It was truly lamentable that I had to suppress my breath internally because I couldn’t make a sound.

…That wasn’t because of Cheon Soyul.

Rather, I wasn’t unaware of why she had suddenly subjected me to such, truly unreasonable, physical violence (?).

‘…Always getting jealous, no matter the time.’

I found it amusing inwardly and let out a faint chuckle.

Cheon Soyul twitched an eyebrow and looked back at me.

Right, the reason she was making this silent protest to me right now. The starting point was none other than the new student welcoming party the day before.

During the ordinarily progressing welcoming party, Ryu Seeun, the new student representative, made an outrageously sudden declaration.

Even without that, rumors related to that incident had already spread so widely on campus that even the cat in the security office knew about them.

If I were to give that rumor a title, it would probably be something like ‘Shock! New Student Representative Ryu Seeun Launches Confession Attack on Second-Year Senior!’

Cheon Soyul must have started feeling an unjustified displeasure towards me right at that point.

Naturally, I must have become even more irritating, distracted by that incident and not even focusing on the lecture.

She probably used ‘guidance’ as an excuse to mix in her personal feelings and playfully mess with me for a bit.

For someone who said they wouldn’t feel anything no matter what I did with whom, isn’t she reacting quite sensitively? Honestly, it was pretty amusing.

‘She’s kind of cute, too…’

Hmm.

Thinking about it this way, the idea that my judgment was clouded because I was blinded by physical and emotional affection didn’t seem entirely wrong after all.

A year ago, I would never have even imagined a day would come when I’d describe the infuriatingly stubborn Cheon Soyul as ‘cute.’

If it were ‘her appearance is pretty,’ that would be another story.

Anyway.

Since I’d already been admonished…

It seemed I should at least pretend to focus on the lecture for a moment. Just a little.

And so, five minutes passed.

“Ah…”

I realized it was far too late to try to focus now.

I slumped onto my desk, and Cheon Soyul let out a frustrated sigh.

“…Whatever, do as you please.”

Was I strange if I found her resigned voice, which sounded a little sulky, quite pleasant to hear?

I chuckled softly and closed my eyes.

It wasn’t important or significant enough to pay close attention to anyway, so closing my eyes for a moment wouldn’t be a problem.

Besides, my seat was at the very back row.

Ding!

At that moment, if my smartphone, tucked away in my pocket, hadn’t vibrated with a small notification sound…

I definitely could have taken a relaxed nap, basking in the warm sunlight.

‘…What is it?’

Still burying my head on the desk, after a brief moment of deliberation, I slightly opened my eyes and fumbled in my pocket. It was to take out my smartphone.

Cheon Soyul’s expression gradually began to turn furious, as the guy she expected to just lie down and sleep was now even taking out his phone…

I tried hard to ignore it and checked the messenger app on my smartphone.

[Top Junior]

“…Uh…”

I uttered a small, hesitant sound.

Why her, now?

True, I remembered exchanging numbers the day before, but we weren’t close enough to exchange private messages during class, were we?

…Or were we? Still, since she’d just thrown out a confession, had we definitely formed a connection?

Hmm. I wasn’t sure. It wasn’t a very important topic, really. I was just a bit flustered, so I ended up thinking about useless things for too long.

I entered the chat window and checked the message she, Ryu Seeun, had sent.

– Top Junior: Senior-nim – Top Junior: Senior-nim, do you perhaps have any separate plans for this evening? – Top Junior: If it’s okay, maybe just a meal… – Top Junior: …Please buy me one. – Top Junior: (Emoticon of a serious-faced bear holding out its palm)

“…”

I suffered from cognitive dissonance for a moment.

What is she, really? Are we close?

If I had my way, I’d possess some villainous young lady—no, a villainous Senior-nim—and just blurt out, ‘Are you close with me?’

The only reason I couldn’t do that was because I possessed a truly excellent character.

I equipped myself with a very gentle mindset as my default stance and tapped the keypad.

– Lee Hyunjin: Did you leave a meal with me?

‘Hmm.’

But after writing it all out, it didn’t seem all that different. This also seemed like a pretty sensitive reply, didn’t it?

‘…Whatever.’

After a brief internal conflict, I decided not to worry about it. No, rather, if this junior was the one I was dealing with, I needed to intentionally adjust my tone a bit.

Still, wasn’t that a rather inhumane response to a female junior who had even confessed to me?

That wasn’t entirely wrong, but to say it was purely that way, Ryu Seeun’s confession was so out of the blue and its true intention so questionable.

I even went so far as to exaggerate and consider the premise that this junior’s confession might include some dark plot (?) from Black Heaven’s Ryu Jinseong.

As I tensely stared at my smartphone for a long time, and even felt Cheon Soyul’s gaze looking at me as if I were utterly pathetic…

Ding.

Finally, a reply came back.

– Top Junior: If you buy me something delicious, – Top Junior: I’ll tell you why I did that yesterday. – Top Junior: (Emoticon of a bear lying on its back, laughing heartily)

“…”

…A bit, no, quite a strong offer came in.

Unexpectedly, she was someone who knew how to make a deal.

What should I do about this? I thought for a moment, but the answer I had to give was already decided.

If I kept worrying about this, I felt I’d waste too much time myself.

I pressed my forehead and touched the keypad once more. Not a light tap, but a firm press.

– Lee Hyunjin: I trust you’re not planning to say you confessed because you really liked me.

– Top Junior: … – Top Junior: (Emoticon of a bear with narrowed eyes, making a ‘dunno’ face)

“…This brat, seriously…”

I let out a deep sigh.

Somehow, she was a very tiring person to deal with.

*****

The meeting place was the east entrance of the campus. If you waited at the bus stop there, you could reach downtown Daejeon within 10 minutes.

Of course, we weren’t going all the way to downtown Daejeon.

Why would we need to go downtown? After all, if you just went down a little from the academy, there was a university street independently formed in that vicinity.

The place I was going to take Ryu Seeun was also there. I knew a truly excellent restaurant.

I walked to the meeting place with my hands deeply shoved into my jacket pockets, and after arriving quickly, I looked around.

…So, where is she?

“Hmm.”

Since I couldn’t immediately see her teal hair, I considered sending a message, but then decided to simply expand my sense of presence detection and trudged toward where she was likely to be.

An alleyway accessible by turning slightly off the wide main road. Deep inside it.

“The meeting place is over there, so what are you doing here…?”

Sure enough, there was indeed Ryu Seeun, the first-year top student.

…Well, she was *there*, but…

I stopped myself from complaining and pressed my lips into a straight line.

That’s how shocking Ryu Seeun’s behavior, leaning against the wall, was.

“…Ah, um.”

And Ryu Seeun, realizing my approach a beat late, seemed equally flustered.

For a moment, her eyes wide like a rabbit’s, she hastily retrieved the stick she had been holding in her mouth.

“…”

“…”

An awkward silence descended. I lightly rubbed my eyes, and Ryu Seeun, a little embarrassed, with the tips of her ears slightly red, asked me:

“…Did you see it?”

I wanted to say I didn’t see it, but wasn’t the situation too obvious for that?

I conveyed my meaning with my gaze. And Ryu Seeun pressed her forehead.

“Why did you come so early? You’re taking this more seriously than I thought.”

“You have a talent for making people curious.”

“Ah, thank you for the compliment.”

“It’s not a compliment. It’s an insult.”

Ryu Seeun, who probably let my last words go in one ear and out the other. She smacked her lips and reached into her pocket again.

And she pulled something out, which was, of course, the stick I had just witnessed.

It was a cigarette.

“It’s not a cigarette.”

What, it wasn’t?

Ryu Seeun, as if she had somehow read my mind, tapped the stick with a sour expression.

Only then did I also examine the stick more closely. If it wasn’t a cigarette, what was it?

Indeed, even at a quick glance, its appearance was quite different from a cigarette.

For one, although it was painted white, its tip was blue.

I blinked. Because I wasn’t unaware of the stick’s true identity.

“Magic Herb?”

“…Yes, well.”

Ryu Seeun awkwardly nodded, affirming my words.

Not a cigarette, but a Magic Herb.

It was an item primarily favored by mages who lacked mana. I myself had tried smoking one just once, several years ago.

…Of course, in my case, I was immediately caught by my Master-nim and beaten black and blue.

I glared at Ryu Seeun with an ambiguous expression.

“So what’s the difference between that and a cigarette?”

“…Hmm.”

I asked, and Ryu Seeun, frowning for a moment as if in thought, said with an utterly serious expression:

“They’re different.”

“So, what is it?”

“Their names are different.”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…So, this is a Magic Herb, and a cigarette is a cigarette, so even if they have similar effects, their names are fundamentally different, taking advantage of…”

“That’s enough.”

“…Ahem, ahem, it was supposed to be a triumphant joke, but it failed, didn’t it?”

Are you serious?

I made a dumbfounded expression, and Ryu Seeun, perhaps realizing her embarrassment, cleared her throat and tapped the Magic Herb to shake off any residual mana.

And I muttered to myself.

One piece of information.

The top-ranked new student was a heavy smoker.

“I said it’s not a cigarette!”

“…!”

I flinched. This girl, she read my mind again.

There was another Jiwoo Noona here.

“…Anyway, let’s go. You are buying, right?”

“If you keep your promise well.”

“What promise?”

“To explain properly. And make sure to exclude any talk about falling in love at first sight with someone you just met yesterday.”

“Ah, of course.”

Ryu Seeun nodded confidently.

Even so, a faint trace of distress was visible in her expression…

Could there really be some circumstance?

‘Can’t tell much just by her expression.’

I decided I should treat her to a meal, taking a chance on being deceived.

I smacked my lips and started walking ahead.

Ryu Seeun, who had been following me closely, tilted her head slightly and asked:

“But where are we going?”

“You’ll know when we get there.”

I answered indifferently, and at the same time, before she could persistently press me further, I turned the tables and asked a question.

“But aren’t you nineteen? Is it okay for you to smoke Magic Herbs?”

In response, Ryu Seeun scratched her cheek.

“I’m twenty, actually.”

“?”

“I’m the same age as Senior-nim. I repeated a year.”

“??”

“Ah, so can I speak informally?”

I didn’t bother to answer her hopeful follow-up question, but at the same time, I thought:

‘Repeated a year…? And of all people, a guy who smokes Magic Herbs?’

Could it be, this person…

Was she a delinquent?

A fairly rational suspicion arose.